“I have the cookie! And you want it,” reads the letter, composed of newspaper cuttings, according to Speigel Online.

Accompanying the note is a picture of the beloved Sesame Street character taking a bite out of the massive golden sweet, which previously stood on a statue outside a factory for one of the leading German cookie companies: Bahlsen.

In the letter, the purported perp demands that a box of cookies be sent to a local children’s hospital in exchange for the return of the oversized snack.

“The ones with milk chocolate, not the ones with dark chocolate or without chocolate,” the letter specifies, warning that the golden cookie will land in the trash with Oscar the Grouch if the request is not fulfilled.

The sender also demands that the $1,400 reward authorities are offering for information leading to the culprit be donated to a local animal shelter.

It remains unclear whether the sender actually stole the iconic cookie — or whether the note is just a scam. Tipsters told police they saw two men with a ladder near the factory earlier this month.

“The ransom note and the photo have been forwarded to criminalists for investigation,” a police spokesman in
The real Cookie Monster took to Twitter to Wednesday to absolve himself of any wrongdoing.

“Me no steal the golden cookie. But me willing to help find real cookie thief!” the character tweeted.